The Premier League is back: betPawa BIG match insights

We’ve got all the latest EPL talking points, trends and tasty stats ahead of a return to action for world football’s most popular domestic league. With that epic WC22 final still playing back in our minds, let’s hit the reset button with a little refresher on where we stand.

It’s been a while.

Quick EPL recap

Intriguing at the top

Arsenal are top of the tree at Christmas and lead the way ahead of Man City by 5 points. All 6 previous teams with 37 points or more after 14 Premier League games have won the league that season. However, the Gunners must now contend with a long-term injury to star striker Gabriel Jesus. Champions City lost to Brentford in their last game and will be looking to avoid consecutive defeats for the first time since December 2018 when they visit Leeds.

Magpies flying North

Newcastle are becoming serious contenders for a top 4 place. Amazingly, they boast the joint-best defence in the division, with just 11 goals conceded from 15 games, and they won 5 matches on the bounce before the break. Their Boxing Day meeting with in-form Leicester should be a stern test, but more on that in a bit.

Harry Kane playing catch-up

Tottenham’s talisman has 12 goals from 15 EPL matches this term, which equals his best tally at this stage of a season. However, there’s a guy called Erling Haaland on the scene now who’s scoring at a freakish rate and Kane will need to take things to a new level if he wants to win his fourth Golden Boot, trailing him by 6 goals already.

The England skipper will also want to put his Qatar penalty woes behind him and improve Tottenham’s run of 3 defeats from their last 5 league games. Just 5 more strikes until he’s only the third player in history after Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney to hit a double century of EPL goals. That’s a huge incentive.

Monday 26th December

London derbies bookend Boxing Day

Spurs will be without key defensive trio Cristian Romero, Hugo Lloris and Ivan Perišić for the short trip to Brentford owing to their WC22 exploits. Although the Bees won away to Man City in thrilling fashion last time out, their overall form remains indifferent with just 2 wins from their last 9 league outings. Tottenham have only won 3 of their last 8 in all competitions so both sides will be eager for a fresh start.

2 of England’s red-hot teams prior to the extended break should produce a competitive contest. James Maddison will feel a little aggrieved that he didn’t play a single minute for The Three Lions in Qatar, despite his tally of 2 goals and 2 assists from his last 4 EPL matches.

Newcastle’s Miguel Almirón has taken a long time to find his shooting boots, but he's now scored 7 goals in his last 8 league outings, which is astonishing if you consider that the Paraguayan had netted just 9 times in his previous 4 EPL seasons combined. This is a serious test of Newcastle’s top 4 credentials.

West Ham’s away form is patchy to say the least. David Moyes’ side have lost 5 of their 7 EPL matches on the road this season, and 4 of their last 5 overall. 21-year-old Gunners star Bukayo Saka was one of England’s standout performers in Qatar and he has 6 EPL assists already this season, just one shy of his tally for the whole of 2021/22. With the ever-creative Gabriel Jesus out long-term, Saka will continue to be Arsenal’s go-to provider.

Tuesday 27th December

Chelsea must sharpen up against bogey team

A win for the Cherries against Everton just before the break stopped a sequence of 4 league defeats in which they conceded a total of 10 goals. Chelsea haven’t been all that great either, losing 3 top-flight matches on the bounce and shipping 6 goals in that sequence.

Blues boss Graham Potter has serious selection headaches in midfield with Mateo Kovačić unavailable and N’Golo Kanté out with a hamstring injury. Somewhat surprisingly, Bournemouth have only lost 1 of their last 5 EPL meetings with Chelsea, winning 3 times in that sample.

Man United and England star Marcus Rashford’s revival has seen him score in 2 of his last 3 outings for the Red Devils and he also bagged a brace at WC22 against Wales in direct confrontation with Welsh right back Neco Williams. They’ll be reunited for a Premier League battle here.

Forest’s mini recent upsurge of their own has seen them lose just 1 of their last 5 EPL outings and claim 2 vital wins. 8 points from 15 certainly isn’t relegation form and they’ll be eager to keep the momentum going because, if they eventually stay up, the £150m of investment will surely all be worth it. One area of clear improvement for Forest has been their defence. After shipping an average of 2.6 goals per game in their first 8 EPL matches this season, they’ve conceded just 1.3 per game in their last 7.

Wednesday 28th December

Erling’s back

Erling Haaland was actually born in Leeds. He won’t need much motivation to score goals here because it’s in his blood, but he’ll likely get special satisfaction from a couple at Elland Road. Illan Meslier made 143 saves last season in the Premier League for Leeds, more than any other keeper, and he’s likely to have his palms stung a few times on a chilly day by Mr Haaland and his friends.

Before the pause for WC22, where he was one of the BIGGEST names not in attendance, the 22-year-old Norwegian goal-machine had 23 strikes across 18 matches in all competitions, including 18 from 13 EPL appearances. Not only is he on course for the Premier League Golden Boot, he’s threatening Mo Salah’s all-time record in a 38-game season of 32.

Welcome back to the Premier League, we’ve missed you!